In minutes, they were climbing the steep hill, hugging tight turns on a narrow road. They drove through a small village the length of a city block, where she spotted a café, mini-market, gas station, and a couple of pubs.

A mile or so past the village, Dustin pulled off the main road onto a trail that took them deep into the mountain. The trail was flanked on both sides with lush green plants; wildflowers graced the landscape while cedars towered above.

Around a steep bend, an enormous cabin came into view, with a deck that appeared to wrap around the entire cabin. He pulled into the cabin’s driveway, and pressed the button on his remote opening the garage door. As he parked the truck, Samantha wondered how in the world he could afford such a home on his own.

“Wow. this is your place?”

“Yes, this is my pride and joy – my sanctuary.”

Dustin opened her door and offered his hand to help her down, like a true gentleman. He escorted her to a side door in the garage leading them into the cabin. Crossing the threshold Samantha halted in awe of the place. It was like walking into first class Mountain Lodge, featuring vaulted ceilings with traditional wood beams and wide plank flooring in a rich dark walnut.

“Welcome to my home. I’m thrilled to have you here. I don’t have many guests outside of family. I hope you like the cabin, it was custom-built. Would you like me to show you around before or after dinner?”

“Before. Um I mean please, if there’s time, I can’t wait to see everything.”

He led her through the living room that featured a 65” flat screen theater system with Bose surround sound that would be perfect for watching sports, movies, or entertaining. She admired the massive floor to ceiling wood burning fireplace built from river rocks, and thought it would be the ideal spot to cozy up and relax after a long day.

The master suite was a luxurious open space. The room was decorated in deep hunter green and white. A second fireplace was the prominent feature in this space, which was double-sided, and shared with master bath. The master bath included a walk-in river rock waterfall shower and a two-person jetted tub. The fireplace served as a focal point from the tub, adding warmth to create a romantic ambiance. And of course there was a large walk in closet to complete the room, where his belongings barely filled a fourth of the open space.

Dustin showed her the remaining rooms; two sparsely decorated guest rooms and bathrooms, the gym, and the game room that was equipped with a wet bar, pool table and electronic dart board. He saved the kitchen for last since this is where they would be spending the first part of their evening together.

“At last the kitchen is through here, and this concludes the tour,” he said while motioning her forward with a sweep of his hand toward the room.

Samantha entered a gourmet kitchen that offered an expansive breakfast bar, Viking stove and top of the line stainless steel appliances. Beyond there was a formal Victorian dining room set that accommodated ten. A dream kitchen fit for professional cooks. An elegant space, fit for formal dinners or whimsical family gatherings.

“Please have a seat at the bar and keep me company while I do some last-minute preparations for dinner. Before I start, what can I get you to drink? Would you like a glass of Chianti or something else…I have sun tea, cola, water–”

“A glass of wine would be great, thank you.” She blurted out. Samantha normally didn’t drink alcohol, but welcomed the idea that a glass or two or a bottle might do the trick in settling her nerves. Yes, wine was exactly what she needed to loosen up a bit and quiet that nagging voice in her head that said, “I so do not belong here and he is out of my league,” which had her wanting to bolt back down the hill before they even had dinner.

***End for now***

Thanks for stopping by my blog and reading! I do hope you stick around for more of Samantha and Dustin’s story. Also, I do appreciate all comments and consider all critiques, so I would love to hear from you.

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“I’m just a girl in the world…that’s all you’ll let me be...” Southern California Native who gets in trouble for sarcasm, suffers from bouts of OCD, and listens to an eclectic range of music really, really loud especially while driving too fast. Turn up the Punk, Billy, Indie, Alternative, Classic, Folk, Metal, and Grunge, Melodic, Industrial, Electronic and so on you get the point.